The invention relates to a header assembly for an intensified charge coupled image sensor and, more particularly, to a rectangularly-shaped header assembly having oppositely disposed rows of electrical leads that can be connected to conventional electrical connectors.
An intensified charge coupled image sensor, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises an image intensifier tube having a photoemissive cathode on an interior surface of an input faceplate and a charge coupled device (CCD) located within an insulative header at the focal plane of the image intensifier tube. The CCD, shown in FIG. 2, includes an image array, known as an A register; a temporary storage array, known as a B register; and an output or C register. The operation of the CCD is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,229 issued to Zimmerman et al. on Oct. 19, 1982. The insulative header, shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, comprises a ceramic plate having a central aperture, larger than the CCD, and a plurality of metallized contact pads disposed on one surface of the ceramic plate and extending from the central aperture to the sides of the plate. The CCD is mechanically attached by means of clips, for example, to a holder plate, such as that shown in FIG. 4, having an aperture therein for exposing the A register to photoelectrons from the photoemissive cathode. The holder plate is brazed to the top side of the insulative header. Electrical connections are made to the metallized contact pads by either of two alternative structures. In the first alternative structure, discrete leads are soldered to each of the contact pads. In the second alternative structure, customized electrical connectors contact the contact pads. Experience has shown that these alternative contact structures are expensive and unreliable. Accordingly, the need exists for a header assembly that can be electrically contacted by conventional, "off-the-shelf" electrical connectors in order to increase the electrical reliability of the sensor while reducing its cost.